DOJ Seizes Bitcoin Tied to Chinese National in Drug Import Case

The latest development on May 26 saw the DOJ file a civil forfeiture action for 1.00001188 BTC linked to Chinese national Wei Gong and an alleged synthetic drug scheme, extending the enforcement wave. The three-week period opened with Kraken’s May 4 lawsuit alleging Etana’s $25 million Ponzi-like diversion and Bittrex’s May 6 bid to recover its $24 million SEC settlement. A May 8 global operation arrested 276 suspects across nine fraud rings, followed by May 12 indictments for a $328 million Goliath Ponzi, $13 million social-engineering thefts, and $6.5 million violent seed-phrase robberies. The period closed with the May 19 nine-year sentencing of Ohio’s Rathnakishore Giri for a $10 million Bitcoin Ponzi, underscoring sustained global pressure on crypto crime.